Lucky '88
by clagjanet
Summary: In response to the FB fanfic challenge for a story using the words "Flames, January, Admission, Cat, Shock, and Gun." Lee and Amanda enjoy a holiday away from the mystery part of their mystery marriage.


Disclaimer: none of these characters belong to me; they belong to Shoot the Moon Enterprises and Warner Bros to whom I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to take them out for a spin and bit of light humour.

Author's Note: Written in response to the FB fanfic challenge to write a story using the words **Flames, January, Admission, Cat, Shock, Gun.** which will appear in **bold** text.

My adopted hometown meant I probably went at these words differently than most people – hope you enjoy it.

Setting: 1988. Stupid Mystery Marriage is still a mystery – and still stupid.

.-.

 **Lucky '88**

Amanda Stetson was transfixed by the view outside the windows of the revolving restaurant. She hadn't known what to think when Lee told her he'd booked them a table for breakfast and had been initially suspicious.

"You don't eat breakfast – why on earth would you make an effort to book us a table somewhere when we could just eat in the hotel?"

"Wait and see, sweetheart, wait and see" was all he would answer. "Just be ready to leave at 8:15."

"8:15? Isn't that a bit late for breakfast? With the time zone change, I'm going to be wide awake by 6:00."

She had had to smile at the sexy grin that appeared on her husband's face. "I'm sure we can find something to do if you're awake that early, but don't forget, we're a lot further north – the sun won't even be up until almost 9:00 at this point in **January**."

She'd been doubtful but now she understood exactly what he'd been up to. The Calgary Tower was only two minutes' walk from the historic Palliser Hotel where they were staying, so they were seated and staring out over the twinkling lights of the city, even as the sky began to glow as the oncoming dawn began over the Prairies to the east.

"It's hard to believe how flat it is – you feel like you can see forever," she murmured.

"I know. My uncle was posted to Great Falls in Montana one year and they call that 'Big Sky Country' but it's even more pronounced up here – way more sky than land." Lee was equally content to watch her as the warm light of the morning began to light up the room. "In fact, I read a story once that the Canadian Navy used to actively recruit prairie boys because they made good sailors – it didn't bother them to be at sea and not be able to see anything on the horizon except sky and more sky."

"It's beautiful, but that sun is going to come up properly in a minute, and I'll be blinded."

"That's the beauty of a revolving restaurant, Amanda." He grinned as he sipped his coffee. "In a minute or so, no more sun in the eyes problem." He picked up his knife and fork and attacked the steak and eggs on his plate.

"I still can't believe you're eating breakfast. Who are you and what have you done with my husband?"

He waved his fork at her and finished swallowing before answering. "First off, my body is on DC time and thinks it's almost 11, so this is more like lunch, secondly, I'm in Alberta and believe me, I am going to eat steak at every meal because nobody except Texas knows their beef like these guys and three, thanks to someone who is also on DC time, I've been awake for a very long time and I've worked up quite an appetite." He gave her a sideways grin and enjoyed watching the blush spread over her cheeks before re-devoting his attention to his steak.

"Yes, well, I have to say our workout this morning did leave me quite breathless this morning," Amanda smiled back at him.

"It's the altitude," said a cheerful voice at her elbow, startling her so much she spilled her coffee. "Oh sorry about that, let me refill that for you," said the waitress, rapidly mopping up the spill.

"What's the altitude, Kat?" asked Amanda, reading her nametag and wondering how much of their conversation the pretty brunette had overheard.

"Being breathless," came the reply. "We're 4000 feet above sea level so if you're not from here, you spend the first few days decompressing. When my boyfriend moved here, the first time he went for a run, he thought he was going to have a heart attack after the first mile. They laughed at him in the emergency room. But, honestly, if you want to know the best way to be breathless around here, turn around and look at that." She nodded her head towards the southwest where the moving floor had brought their table.

Amanda turned to look and gasped in astonishment. They were now facing the Rockies and across the rolling foothills, the rising sun had lit their snow covered surfaces in every shade of red, pink and peach imaginable. They positively glowed in the morning light, highlighted by the electric blue colour of the sky behind them as the night's darkness was chased away to the west. It was indescribably beautiful, every crag and plane of the mountains was sharply outlined in the clear winter air.

"They're so close – I feel like I could reach out and touch them!" she murmured, putting her hand on the window as if actually attempting it.

"They're 100 kilometres away actually but it's something in the atmosphere that seems to magnify them on days like this." Even the waitress had stopped momentarily, transfixed by the view out the window.

Amanda turned to look at Lee who was grinning happily at her. "This is why we're up here for breakfast! For this view!"

"Guilty as charged," he beamed at her. "Worth the price of **admission** , isn't it?"

"It is. I don't know when I've seen something so beautiful."

Lee reached across the table to pick up her hand and bring it to his lips. "I do," he said with a wink and watched a blush to match the one on the mountains rise on his wife's face.

An hour later, they had done a complete revolution and found themselves facing out over the city again. The mountains behind them were now pure white on the horizon, stretching as far as the eye could see in the west. Kat brought them the credit card machine to their table and started to giggle again as she looked at Lee's card. "Well, you two will certainly fit in in Calgary!" she smiled as she handed him back his card.

"Why do you think so?" asked Lee smiling in response to her bubbly laugh.

"Calgary is cowboy country – just look around, stetsons everywhere!" They hadn't been able to resist laughing along with her and when they got to street level again, they realized she hadn't been exaggerating. Along with the winter hats and scarves you'd expect to find in a Canadian winter, cowboy hats were sprinkled liberally among the crowd.

"So what do you want to do today?" asked Lee as they wandered back down the street towards their hotel. "We could drive up to the mountains, Banff is beautiful and only an hour and a bit away, maybe we could even get in some skiing."

"Can we do that tomorrow instead? I have a surprise planned for you tonight and I want to make sure we're not back too late for it."

"A surprise? For me? What kind of surprise?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now would it? You can stop with the puppy dog eyes Mr. Stetson, I'm not going to tell you."

"Can you give me a hint?" Lee had pulled her close to him and was now kissing the spot along her neck that usually got him what he wanted.

"It involves a special outfit. That's all I'm going to tell you." Her eyes were brimming with mischief; Lee could feel his anticipation growing for what she might have planned.

"Ok, I guess I'll just have to spend my day trying to get it out of you. That might be just as enjoyable."

"Might be – I'll look forward to the Class C interrogation."

"Oh Amanda, you know I always bring my Class A best for you."

"Yes you do, Skippy, yes you do. But we still haven't decided what to do with today."

"How about we tour around and look at all the new sports facilities? The Winter Olympics are only a month away and I hear they've built some amazing stuff for them."

"That sounds like a great idea." They had arrived back in the lobby of the hotel and as they walked towards the elevator, Amanda suddenly stopped in her tracks and pointed to the sign outside the restaurant off the lobby. "Lee! Look what they offer! Can you imagine Francine if she saw this?"

He turned to see what she was looking at and burst out laughing at the poster for the weekly "Death by Chocolate" buffet offered.

"100 different desserts to tempt the serious chocolate lover, from white to dark from mousse to cake and everything in between" he read out loud. "My God, she might pass out just reading the poster."

"Pity we can't tell her about it since nobody even knows we're here." Amanda grabbed a leaflet for the buffet and stuck it in her purse, grinning. "But I guess there's nothing stopping me leaving it on her desk anonymously to torture her, right?" She turned and made a shooing motion towards the elevator. "You go on up ahead – I have to check with the concierge about something for tonight."

"Is it going to involve chocolate?" asked Lee hopefully, waggling his eyebrows.

Amanda gave him a shove towards the elevator. "Probably not, but it might involve death if you don't get out of here and let me get the arrangements done."

.

*SMK*

"You know, I thought there'd be more snow in Canada in the middle of winter" laughed Amanda as they walked across the bare sidewalks of the University on their way to the new Olympic speedskating oval.

"It was just the same in Great Falls," said Lee. "Most of the snow gets dumped on the mountains at this time of year so there's not as much snow as you'd expect. And they get these weird mountain winds called chinooks that warm everything up and melt the snow pretty regularly. Don't be fooled though – I read something in the hotel brochure that said Calgary has had snow in every month of the year at some point."

"Wow, can you imagine getting snow in July? Although there's certainly times in the middle of a Washington summer that I'd love to see it. And have you noticed how dry it is here compared to Washington? I keep getting an electric **shock** every time I touch something!"

"Aww, I thought I always had that effect on you, Mrs. Stetson." Lee loved being able to openly call her that, knowing there was no one to care if he was overheard.

"You're incorrigible, Mr. Stetson."

They wandered into the new sports building and found their way to the bleacher seats surrounding the smooth ice. The oval was packed with skaters from a dozen different countries in their spandex bodysuits, swooping around at unimaginable speeds, bodies almost parallel to the ice as they went around the corners. Over the country music blasting over the PA, they could hear the sounds of the blades biting through the ice and the muffled sound of a starter **gun** as athletes practiced their fast starts.

"You don't often get to see this class of athlete so up close," commented Amanda. "It makes me feel so unfit – I think I'm doing well when I go to the rink with the boys and don't fall over more than twice."

"If you think this is fast, wait until we get over to the new Olympic park at the edge of town," said Lee. "I heard someone say there are already teams over there doing practice runs down the bobsled track."

"Did you hear the rumour that Jamaica is sending a bobled team this year?"

Lee snorted. "I heard it, but I'll believe it when I see it. Sounds to me like some kind of April Fools prank the National Enquirer came up with."

"Well, let's go check it out. Philip is going to be so jealous when he hears we've been to all these places."

Canada Olympic Park turned out to be quite an extensive facility. To the east were the two giant towers built for the ski jumping and to the west, the twists and turns of the ice track that would host the bobsled and luge teams in just a few weeks. In between was the ski hill, thronged with families out enjoying the sunny afternoon.

"Is this where they're having the ski racing?" asked Amanda in confusion. "It doesn't seem very big."

"No, that's all happening out in the mountains at a new resort they built just for the games. This is just an existing ski hill that they expanded," said Lee, reading from the brochure he'd picked up in the hotel lobby. "We could go skiing out at the Olympic site tomorrow if you'd like – it's a lot closer than Lake Louise but still in the mountains."

"Can you imagine how much the boys would love to have a ski hill like this right in the middle of town? It's the perfect size to learn on – they'd be in heaven." She suddenly clutched Lee's arm and pointed across the parking lot. "Oh my gosh, look! Is that what I think it is?"

Lee looked where she was pointing and grinned. "You mean Wile E. Coyote over there? You know, I almost forgot how used to people they are out in this part of the world. Don't let him worry you, he's just sniffing around for food people have dropped."

Amanda stared at him in amazement. "I shouldn't be worried that there's a wild animal wandering around in the middle of a public place? Are you crazy?"

Lee shrugged. "We have raccoons, they have coyotes. Don't bother them and they won't bother you, although you might want to keep any small dogs pretty close to you." He grinned as Amanda took his arm and moved in closer, a worried expression still on her face. "If we're lucky we'll see some elk or maybe even a moose up in the mountains tomorrow."

"From the safety of the car, I hope." Amanda might be the queen of camping but it still unnerved her that no one around them appeared at all worried by the proximity of dangerous wildlife. "At least the bears will all be hibernating."

Several hours later they returned to the hotel for dinner in its famous Rimrock restaurant. Amanda eyed Lee's plate doubtfully. "I can't believe that's your third steak today. I thought you were kidding when you said that's all you were going to eat during this trip."

"When in Rome, sweetheart. I plan to be made almost entirely of beef by the time we go home. I'll need my strength to get through working through the long weekend when we get back."

"No shop talk Lee, you promised!"

"You're right. Why don't you tell me about my surprise instead?"

"Nice try, Big Fella, but you'll find out soon enough." She looked at her watch and grinned up at him. "In fact, you better plan on skipping dessert because it's later than I thought."

"It had better be good if I don't get any dessert," said Lee with a mock pout, although the dimples in his cheeks suggested he was not as disappointed as he sounded.

"I'll go up now and get ready. You finish up and meet me in the room in ten minutes." She gave him her most wicked smile as she rose from the table and walked towards the lobby.

"I do love to watch that woman walk away," Lee smiled to himself as he drained his wine glass and motioned to the waiter to bring the bill.

Ten minutes later and not a second more, Lee let himself into their room and looked in confusion around the empty room. "Amanda?" he called out.

"Right here."

He turned to see her leaning in the doorway of the bathroom wearing only an outsized white hockey shirt, which somehow made her legs look even longer and sexier and an expression on her face like a **cat** that had swallowed the cream.

"Mmm, is that the sexy nightgown for hockey night in Canada? Tell me there isn't going to be any fighting," he growled as he walked forward to take her in his arms.

"Well there might be icing, but this isn't your surprise." At his puzzled look, she reached into the front of her shirt and pulled something out of her bra. Lee's eyes widened as he took in what she was holding. "That's right Scarecrow. Ice level seats, right beside the players' bench, tonight at the Saddledome, Washington Capitals are playing the Calgary **Flames** and it starts in 45 minutes."

"Are you kidding me?" Everyone on the hotel floor must have been able to hear the whoop of delight he gave off as he picked her up and began swinging her around the room while she laughed hysterically.

"Put me down! We don't have any time to waste – get your Caps shirt on and let's get moving. It's a twenty minute walk from here."

"You packed my Caps shirt? Of course you did." Lee was like a little kid, running to the suitcases to haul out the matching white shirt to the one she was wearing. "Okay, let's go! I'm ready."

"Give me two seconds. I think I'm probably going to want to be wearing more than just this shirt," chuckled Amanda, pleased that her surprise had made him so happy.

*SMK*

A few hours later, Lee Stetson was not quite as happy as he'd been when they walked into the arena. "Man, the Flames are so good this season – I think they may actually be on track to win the cup this year."

"Well, at least we'll be able to say we saw them on their way to it," said Amanda trying to cheer him up.

"Oh yeah, that certainly takes the burn away from watching them win 8-2 tonight," he grumbled in mock despair.

Amanda dropped her arm over his shoulder and gave him a squeeze. "I'm sure I can think of another way to take the burn away, sweetheart. I'm sorry my surprise didn't turn out to be quite as much fun as I'd hoped."

Lee lifted his hand to stroke her cheek before leaning in to give her a long passionate kiss. "Sweetheart, even a losing hockey game is a great hockey game – I couldn't be more pleased with my surprise. Except for the part where you try and make it up to me for them losing of course."

Amanda leaned in and gave him another kiss. "I'll do my best to make you forget, sweetheart" She went on in the French accent she had practiced for Tony Martinet's play "And I won't even use any wine."

Lee stood up and grabbed her hand to haul her to her feet and into his arms. "Well, let's get back to the hotel then, Mrs. Stetson"

**SMK**

"Good morning Lee! Did you have a good vacation?" Francine was way too happy a mood as she spotted him walking across the bullpen towards Billy's office.

"I did, thank you for asking."

"How about Amanda? Did she have a nice vacation?"

"I haven't seen her yet this morning to ask." Lee looked suspiciously at Francine. She had that smile that she only ever got when she was sure she had something on him, but he couldn't imagine what it could be since he'd been gone for a week. "Do you know why Billy wants to see me so urgently?'

"Oh yeah," she was grinning broadly at him now.

"Are you going to tell me?" he asked, looking at her through narrowed eyes.

"Nope!" She followed him as far as the doorway to Billy's office and stopped.

Billy looked up from his paperwork and gestured for Lee to sit. He glanced back up at Francine who was still standing in the doorway, eyebrows arched in a hopeful expression. Stifling a laugh, he waved her into the room and she couldn't get in to grab a seat fast enough. Lee was seriously worried now – how bad was his next assignment that Francine could be taking such glee in it and Billy was letting her?

Billy leaned back in his chair and stared at him for a moment. "Welcome back, Lee. Did you have a good vacation?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Feeling well rested? Relaxed? Ready for a new year?"

"Cut the crap Billy – why is everyone suddenly so interested in how my vacation was?"

"Well, I'm just hoping that the little break you had now will get you back on your toes. You know, sharper, more cognizant of your surroundings, better at covert affairs."

Francine couldn't contain herself any longer. She dropped her head in her hands and started to laugh uncontrollably. Lee stared at her and back at Billy whose lips were starting to twitch as well.

"What the hell is going on with you two?"

In response, Billy picked up a remote control from his desk and pointed it at the television behind Lee's head. Lee turned to watch the screen and for a moment he thought it was simply a crowd scene but his heart sank as he slowly recognized what the tape was. The cheery announcers began to hammer the nails into his coffin.

" _Well, that was just a disastrous game for the Caps tonight Bob – I'm not sure when I've seen a team go down to such a terrible defeat and so quickly. It was like they lost momentum in the first period and just never got it back"_

" _You're absolutely right, Tom, but you know, pardon the pun but the Flames are just on fire this season. They are firmly on the way to the Stanley Cup playoffs and teams like the Caps are just falling in front of them like cannon fodder."_

" _Aww, look Bob. Our cameraman has found what may be the only two Cap fans in the Saddledome tonight. They really stand out in those white shirts, don't they in that sea of red? Did you ever see a sadder pair of fans?"_

"Oh crap" Lee knew he'd said it out loud but he also knew it was too late anyway.

" _Well, it looks like his girlfriend might be trying to cheer him up. Oh wait, nope that's his wife - at least I hope that's his wife with that ring on her finger. Either way that's a pretty happy guy now."_

Billy paused the tape just at the moment where Amanda's arm around his neck and his hand in her cheek while he kissed her clearly showed their wedding rings glinting in the bright lights of the hockey rink. Lee stared at the screen, wordlessly for what seemed like an eternity before slowly turning back to look at Billy, who was leaning back in his chair, grinning broadly.

"Want to try answering that vacation question again now, Scarecrow?"

"Ahh Billy, I can explain…"

"I bet you can, and I really would like to know why I just spent the last 18 months encouraging you to settle down someone you had already married but please just wait a second because your partner in – uh – crime just walked in."

Lee spun around and stood up as he watched Amanda headed towards the office at high speed. She stopped in the doorway, and took in the expressions on everyone's face before glancing up at the screen where Billy had paused it. Her shoulders sank in defeat as she walked further into the room and dropped down into the chair he'd just vacated. "You too, huh?" was all she said.

"Too?" echoed Lee, dreading the answer.

"Who knew Kurt was such a big Caps fan? He'd taped the game and showed my mother," she sighed.

"The boys?"

"No, she didn't say anything until after they left for school, but oh boy, did I ever get an earful after that." She suddenly seemed to remember where they were and looked up at Billy apologetically. "We can explain..."

"Funny, your husband said that just seconds before you walked in." There was a pause as he watched them react to his use of the word and then he began to guffaw uncontrollably, along with Francine who had never really stopped. Then, just as suddenly he stopped and grabbed the remote to switch the screen off as Dr. Smyth walked past the military guards and into the bullpen. Francine gave them a sympathetic look as she shot out of the office in what Lee could only envy as sheer self-preservation.

"You two keep quiet," Billy muttered at them and sat back to wait for the Director to stalk into the office.

"Reading them the riot act, I trust Melrose?" He turned to look at the couple who stared back at him, Amanda reddening and Lee with his cheek muscles twitching from how tight his teeth were clenched.

"Actually, sir, no. I went over the Agency rulebook and there is actually no rule against married couples in there. And their union rep confirmed it." He added the second sentence apologetically but in the tone of a government employee who knew better than to argue with the union.

Dr. Smyth almost snapped through his cigarette holder at Billy's answer. "That's ridiculous. There has to be. It must be grounds for insubordination if nothing else or dereliction of duty."

"Well, no, actually it's not. Agency employees are encouraged to disclose relationships for the safety of their spouses but it isn't mandatory, right to privacy and all that, you know. And as for dereliction of duty, I don't believe there is a single thing in their files that you could use to point to that. The only people who have a valid complaint here is Personnel – they're not going to be happy about post-dating the paperwork."

Lee and Amanda held their breath as they watched the Director processing Billy's excuses.

"And then there's the Vice President," added Billy in a thoughtful tone, staring up at the ceiling.

"What does the Vice President have to do with this?" snapped Dr. Smyth, a question Lee and Amanda were asking themselves as well.

"Well, as you might recall, after the Oz network had that setback in 1975, Lee was seconded temporarily to the CIA to help clear the Agency against the Church Committee, and apparently Vice President Bush remembers him specifically with gratitude for helping him in his position as the Director there."

"He does?" Dr. Smyth stared at Billy suspiciously. Behind his back, Amanda turned to look at Lee who looked back at her, equally confused.

"He does. In fact, he's specifically asked for him to coordinate the security when he's in Kansas and Iowa for the election primaries in a few weeks."

"He has?" It seemed Dr. Smyth had been reduced to two-word sentences in his frustration.

"Mmm-hmm. And New Hampshire" Billy was now spinning his pen around his fingers while he watched Dr. Smyth seethe. "Which means he'll have to be on the roster for at least next four weeks, including both of the long weekends."

"But not Mrs. Scarecrow?"

"No. She has young sons at home and can't afford to be away for so long."

Amanda couldn't help the small squeak of distress that escaped her as she suddenly saw the next month stretching out in front of her with no Lee and an angry family. Billy's lips twitched but he didn't look at her. Dr. Smyth stood for a few moments more, glaring alternately at Billy and Lee before finally grunting and walking out of the office without saying a word.

The silence stretched out as the trio in the office watched until he was safely out of sight, and then Lee and Amanda turned back to look at Billy simultaneously.

"Billy? The Vice President doesn't know me from Adam. I was seconded to the Church Committee – I never went near the Director's Office." Lee seemed determined to come clean on everything all at once.

"Oh, I know that and you know that, but Dr. Smyth doesn't. All he knows is that you had something to do with a congressional committee that almost took out the entire CIA ten years ago. You go work on the security detail and stay out of his face for the next four weeks. The longer he does nothing about it, the less he's going to be able to do anything about it."

"So Lee has to be gone for the next month?" Amanda tried to sound professional but wasn't very successful.

"Cheer up, Amanda, it's not like he'll be out of the country on a zero contact mission. Lee, we just need to keep you out of Smyth's sight for the next little while, so stay out of the office." He leaned back in his chair and watched the couple in front of him squirming with guilt.

Lee ran his hand through his hair in the familiar motion of frustration. "Billy, I'm – we're – really sorry."

"I'm sure you are, but you certainly have brought yourselves into a whole world of hurt not telling Amanda's family, haven't you?" he watched as both of them slumped further into their chairs, despair written on their faces. "So, one day soon you're going to tell me – and Francine – the whole story of why you've been hiding this for almost a year but right now, I suggest you both get out of here and go calm down Mrs. West. I've been on the receiving end when she's upset and I think that might be punishment enough for both of you now."

"You even know how long it's been?" asked Amanda in a quiet voice.

Billy started to chuckle. "Oh, Francine and I had a whole week to entertain ourselves following your little paper trail while you've been away. Now get out of here and go get your family stuff straightened out before I have to kick Lee out of town. I'd say I can put that off for at least a week."

"Thanks Billy" "Thank you sir". They both shot to their feet and took the escape offered, although Lee leaned back in to say "Uh Billy? I hate to ask for anything right now but can – "

"Yes Amanda can go to New Hampshire with you."

Lee beamed at him. "Thanks Billy."

As they walked across the bullpen, only now noticing the grins on many of their colleagues' faces, Amanda asked him quietly "Why New Hampshire?"

"It's the same weekend as our anniversary."

"Oh. That's so nice of him." Amanda looked genuinely touched.

"Yes it is, but look out because here comes Francine and she's not going to be nice."

"Want to make a run for it?" She couldn't help grinning up at him, her sense of humour suddenly bubbling up in the face of so many fires to put out.

In the face of her unstoppable giggling, Lee couldn't help starting to laugh himself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. "Heads we talk to Francine, tails we talk to your mother?" Amanda nodded, chuckling.

Before he could flip it, a well-manicured hand reached out and snatched it out of his hand.

"Ok you two, come and spill. Normally I say that it's worse when you try and explain, but this time, I want every nasty little detail."

Lee caught the look on Amanda's face and turned to Francine, now waiting expectantly. Then, taking Amanda by the arm, he began walking rapidly towards the elevator.

"Sorry Francine, we'll tell you everything later but right now, I have to go smooth things over with my mother-in-law."

"Oh my God. I never even thought of that. Lee Stetson has a mother-in-law!" They could still hear her shrieking with laughter as the elevator closed behind them.

"Ready Mrs. Stetson?"

"Ready Mr. Stetson. Let's go home."

.

**SMK**

Author's Endnotes:

Headed out this morning and drove smack dab into exactly the kind of sunrise I describe in the story – still breathtaking after 22 years here. And yes, I rarely have a day in Calgary when I don't see a cowboy hat, even though we are now a city of 1.2 million people.

In fact, everything I wrote about Calgary is true. The 1988 Winter Olympics were the only games that were not only debt-free but actually earned a surplus. That surplus was put back into the legacy projects and Calgary is one of few Olympic cities where virtually all the facilities built for the game are all still in constant use. The ski jump is among the few not used because improvements in the sport mean that skiers now would land somewhere among the audience bleachers instead of the landing zone! The home game win against the Capitals on January 10, 1988 really was 8-2 (ouch) but the Flames had to wait another year before they could win the Stanley Cup. Coyotes wander pretty freely in most areas of the city even today. We have a family pair that live in the park across the street and we seem them out and about on an almost daily basis – we do not let our small dog off leash much!

Best for last: the Palliser Hotel's Death by Chocolate buffet exists and is indeed to die for.


End file.
